Chief AI Officer (On Demand)

Chief AI Officer (On Demand)

We are seeking a solution-oriented, on-demand Chief AI Officer (CAIO) to provide strategic and hands-on AI leadership as needed. This role is designed for a senior AI practitioner and advisor who can step in quickly, understand business context, and deliver high-impact AI solutioning without requiring full-time involvement. The CAIO will guide AI strategy, lead solution discovery, support customer engagements, and architect AI-powered solutions. The ideal candidate has a strong grasp of AI trends and market shifts, can distinguish enduring capabilities from short-lived tools, and applies AI with a solution-first, business-driven mindset. This is not a long-term operational management role. It is a high-ownership, high-impact advisory role focused on outcomes, clarity, and execution enablement

Required Experience:

• Senior-level experience delivering AI-based or AI-powered solutions in consulting, enterprise, or product environments.
• Strong solution mindset with the ability to move from ambiguity to clear, actionable AI architectures.
• Deep understanding of AI trends, GenAI, LLM ecosystems, ML pipelines, and AI frameworks, with a pragmatic, non-hype-driven approach.
• Extensive customer-facing advisory experience, including executive-level engagements.
• Proven experience leading AI workshops, discovery sessions, and solutioning engagements.
• Background in solution architecture, technical pre-sales, or sales engineering.
• Ability to operate independently, providing direction without requiring day-to-day oversight.
• Broad exposure across software engineering, data platforms, product development, and AI systems.
• Strong experience in AI and technical due diligence, including feasibility and risk assessments.
• Excellent communication skills; consultative, credible, and outcome-focused presence.
• Experience advising or building AI practices, accelerators, or Centers of Excellence.
• Demonstrated thought leadership through advisory work, speaking, or writing.

Responsibilities:

• Provide on-demand AI leadership to shape AI strategy, roadmap, and solution offerings.
• Translate evolving AI trends and technologies into practical, scalable, and deployable solutions.
• Act as a customer-facing AI advisor, engaging with executives, product leaders, and technical teams.
• Lead AI discovery workshops, solution ideation sessions, and architecture reviews.
• Support pre-sales and sales engineering through solution definition, feasibility validation, and value articulation.
• Independently design and review end-to-end AI solution architectures aligned to customer needs.
• Conduct AI and technical due diligence for clients, partners, and internal initiatives.
• Advise delivery and engineering teams on architecture, risk, scalability, and best practices.
• Serve as a trusted advisor, helping teams make informed decisions on AI adoption and investment.
• Contribute to AI thought leadership through workshops, advisory sessions, and strategic guidance.
• Help define repeatable AI solution frameworks and accelerators

What Success Looks Like:

• Clear, actionable AI solution strategies aligned to business goals
• High-quality solution architectures that teams can confidently execute
• Strong client confidence in AI direction and feasibility
• Faster and more effective AI decision-making across sales and delivery

What This Role Is (and Is Not): This role is:

• Fractional, flexible, and outcome-driven
• Solution-first and customer-facing
• Strategic with hands-on depth

This role is not:

• A full-time operational leadership role
• A people-management or HR-heavy position
• A research-only or tool-centric advisory role

About ISHIR:

• ISHIR is a digital innovation and enterprise AI services provider. We work with startups and enterprises to shape the future through accelerated innovation, deep technical expertise, access to global digital talent and a passion for complex problem-solving. With our help, our clients overcome their most difficult digital challenges leveraging AI. We are not just consultants, we are partners in our clients success, assisting them with re(gaining) competitive edge by identifying opportunities for differentiation, industry disruption, scalable innovation, and go-to-market strategies that deliver successful outcomes. At ISHIR, we help bold businesses accelerate innovation through Talent, Speed-to-Market, and AI. We help make an impact by solving real problems using innovation, improved customer experiences and the right technologies. As an ISHIR employee, you will get the advanced training you need to be successful, and the opportunity to apply it. You must be passionate about technology, crave responsibility, and be eager to apply your knowledge to real business solutions for our startup and enterprise customers. These are the qualities of a person destined for success at ISHIR. ISHIR attracts a special type of individual someone who is proactive, thrives on challenges, feeds off success, and looks at moving targets not as obstacles but as opportunities. ISHIR is an exciting place to work. It is imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit and promotes self-reliance, open communication, and collaboration.